KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 9): The FBM KLCI stayed firmly above the important 1,700-point level at mid-morning today in line with the gains at regional markets.

At 10.01am, the FBM KLCI rose 18.57 points to 1,710.77.

The top gainers included British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Petronas Dagangan Bhd, UMW Holdings Bhd, PPB Group Bhd, Petronas Gas Bhd, Hong Leong Bank Bhd, Nestle (M) Bhd, RHB Capital Bhd, Gamuda Bhd and Genting Plantations Bhd.

The top actives included KNM Group Bhd, Luster Industries Bhd, Sumatec Resources Bhd, IFCA MSC Bhd, Berjaya Corporation Bhd, Bumi Armada Bhd, Daya Materials Bhd and Perisai Petroleum Teknologi Bhd.

The top losers included Lay Hong Bhd, Sarawak Oil Palms Bhd, PCCS Group Bhd, Magni-Tech Industries Bhd, Texchem Resources Bhd, Ireka Corporation Bhd and CB Industrial Product Bhd.

Asian shares rose on Friday, taking their cue from a jump in oil prices as well as gains on Wall Street after minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest meeting led investors to further pare bets that the central bank will hike interest rates this year, according to Reuters.

Oil prices climbed to their highest in three months on Thursday, after forecaster PIRA Energy Group predicted crude prices would rise to US$70 per barrel by the end of 2016, it said.

Hong Leong IB Research said it remains positive on short to medium FBM KLCI outlook, underpinned by positive catalysts such as expectations of potential delay in Fed’s liftoff to 1Q16, additional rollouts of stimulus measures by global central bankers to support weakening global economy, speculation that ValueCap will soon enter into the market, potential inflows of foreign funds and recovery in the ringgit.

“Key resistances are 1,700–1,729 whilst supports fall on 1,643–1,676,” it said.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)